Avery’s POV

“You need to go back to college.”

Brian’s words hit me like a hard slap in the face, leaving me stunned and speechless. All I could do was blink and gap at him as I tried to grasp the meaning of his words. What did he mean we had to go back to school? Where the hell did that come from? I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and I shook my head, not wanting to believe what I was hearing.

“What?” I heard Maya ask angrily. Well at least she could formulate words because right now I was finding it hard to breathe let alone talk.

“We mean…we don’t know how you two thought about this anyway, you still have college and it’s important. You can’t just skip that in order to be here, right?” Matt rambled but my mind was focused on one thing and one thing only—the hurt that was building in my chest.

“What do you mean? You don’t want us here anymore?” I asked softly, my voice shaking as my heart felt like it was breaking my chest. They couldn’t really be trying to get rid of us could they? After all that we’ve been through, this is what it was going to come down to? What were they bored with us? I was hurt.

“I didn’t say that,” Matt said, looking directly at Maya. Well, you could have fooled me because that was exactly what I heard. “I just told you that you need to finish. I mean… as much as we want you with us, we also know that you have to go back. It’s not that bad, we still have the tour to finish, we will be busy here anyway and when we come back we can have as much time together as we like…” So basically they wanted us to go back so they could be rock stars…I understood now.

I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table, my head in my hands. I felt like I was going to be sick now that my world had crashed down around me in a matter of seconds. I couldn’t believe that they wanted to get rid of us, especially after the day that we’d had. It just didn’t make any sense. What did we do wrong?

I think what bothered me the most was that I avoided thinking about this moment at all. Every time it reared its ugly little head I pushed it away, pretending that it wasn’t really and wouldn’t happen. I just kept telling myself that there was no way that I would have to leave, especially when I felt so in love and comfortable with Brian. So I wasn’t at all prepared to have this conversation and right now. All I knew was that I wanted to stay but apparently the guys had other plans for us.

I guess it was my own fault for not thinking about this sooner, and then maybe I wouldn’t feel so blind sighted right now. In my mind, I guess I just figured that I would take the semester off and finish off the tour with the guys. I mean Maya and I only had one more to do before we graduated, so what was difference if I did it now or in six months? Would that really be so bad? I guess so because the guys didn’t want us here anymore, that much I was understood.

“Say something, Ave.” Maya’s voice snapped me back to the present and I gapped at her for a moment, trying to find my voice again.

“I haven’t thought about that either, I honestly tried to push the thought away. And I wanted to stay, even though I knew it would freak my Dad out but…” I took a shaky breath, trying to control the tears I felt coming. “But not being here with you,” I willed myself to look at Brian and he was just frowning. So he really did want me to go back to school? That thought crushed me. “… would freak me out even more... but if you…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the rest and I refused to cry about it in front of them.

I quickly stood up and grabbed Mayas’ hand, dragging her to the back room with me. I couldn’t sit there and look at them any more when I didn’t feel wanted. As soon as the door shut behind us, I pulled Maya into a hug and completely broke down.

“Ave…shh….it’s going to be okay. They don’t know what they’re saying,” Maya whispered in my ear. Her voice didn’t sound convincing and that only made this harder. “You’re dad just has them scared.”

“Bullshit!” I cried, pulling away from her and flopping down on the bed. I hugged a pillow to my chest as I curled in a ball. “You saw their faces…”

Maya sighed and sat down next to me, looking both frustrated and sad. “The only thing I saw was Gates looking like someone stole his dog,” she sighed, her arm slinging around my shoulders. “He doesn’t want you to go, Ave.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, putting my face down in the pillow. I was so frustrated and upset right now that I could hardly standing it and it was my own damn fault. We should have talked about this sooner. “Then why is he forcing me? You heard him you need to go back to college,” I tearfully mocked his deep voice.

Now it was Maya’s turn to laugh. “I didn’t exactly see him pushing you out the door, little gnome. In fact, he was trying to follow along when you slammed the door. I think he may actually cry if you left him…” she chuckled, but I didn’t find anything fun about it.

“Then why did he say it?! If he wanted me here he wouldn’t have said it like that!” I threw my arms up in the air before sinking backwards on the bed in defeat. What was Maya a mind reader when it came to Brian? And wasn’t she upset about this too? “Why aren’t you upset about this? Don’t you want to stay? Don’t you care?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. Of course Maya cared about Matt and staying. I just let my frustration get he the better of me.

“Because I think it was one of the rules your dad gave them,” her voice suddenly sounded sad and I knew I had hit a nerve with her. “But really it’s our choice, not anyone else’s and I’m upset because everyone just assumed that we wouldn’t want to go back. Well, what if I did? I’ve enjoyed college and I want to graduate. I want to be the first person in my family to have a college degree…then we can start our dream, Ave.”

I smiled lightly as I thought about our future plans. Ever since we were little, Maya and I had dream of opening our own business where I would do the graphic designs and business and she would create clothing. Hell we even had a portfolio started of ideas that was wanted to create. All we were missing was the degree to get the funds my dad had set aside for us to start a business. It wasn’t enough to start out, but it was definitely enough to make a down payment on a business. The rest we would have to do with loans, but that was a whole other thing. So now only one semester separated us from reaching that down payment.

“I know,” I sighed. Damn this was hard. I knew I couldn’t have everything that I wanted all at once. “They shouldn’t just assume things…but what if we took a semester off to finish the tour? We would of course finish our degree this year but would you put it off? Or do you want to go back this semester?”

Maya groaned and flopped down on the bed next to me. “I don’t know,” she moaned. “Do I have to choose right now? I mean, no I don’t want to leave my big guy but I also don’t want to miss out on my future…on our future.”

“I’m not asking you to give up on our dream, M. I wouldn’t do that either. We’ve been planning for it too long…but could we postpone it four or five months?” I asked, rolling over to look in her eyes. “We could graduate in May instead of December.”

Maya pulled me into her side and I cuddled into her. It had been a long time since we had done this and it felt good to be with my best friend. “So I take it that you want to stay then?” Maya asked after a few minutes of silence. I could feel my eyes drooping slightly and it was only then that I realized that I had barely slept in the past two days.

“I don’t want to leave him…but what he wants is another story,” I said sadly, still feeling like he wanted to get rid of me.

“Don’t be stupid, Ave. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The last thing Gates wants to do is get rid of you. Speaking of which,” Maya said just as I yawned, my eyelids drooping. It was hopeless to fight it because I knew I was exhausted. “When was the last time you slept?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I yawned again. “But we need to come up with a plan because distance is the last thing I want to do,” I admitted, watching a frown come over Maya’s face.

“I don’t want to do distance either, little gnome, but I really hate to put it off. I’ve got an assistant ship on campus right now and I really want to take it. I mean, I’ve got a lot riding on this last semester and I know if I talk to Matt that he will understand.”

“Let’s just think about our options, okay?” I was really freaking sleepy now and I had to close my eyes. My eyelids felt like they weighed 300lbs and I knew I would be fast asleep in a matter of seconds. “If the guys want us to stay….would you consider finishing online? I’m sure your assistantship could go that way too. It’s to help teach a design class, right? I don’t see why you couldn’t do it online,” I tried to sleep.

“I don’t know, Ave…”Maya sighed. “Let’s think about it and talk it over with the guys and then we can decide. I don’t think it would be wise to make a decision right now, specially when you obviously haven’t slept in two day or more. God, what has Gates been doing to you?” Maya teased and I could only smile.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” I breathed, cuddling closer. “I just hope he wants to continue it…”

“I’m sure he does, little gnome. Go to sleep….” And as if on command, I drifted off to sleep. What seemed like minutes later, I heard a voice that pulled me from my peaceful sleep. What gives? I just closed my eyes!

“Wake up, love. We arrived, let’s move into the hotel, alright? We can still talk about everything,” I heard as a mass moved the mattress. I groaned and moved my hands up over my eyes, not ready to get up.

“Come on, love…” The next thing I knew, I felt small kisses being placed on my lips and I immediately smiled. I rolled over and wrapped my arms around the familiar mass, feeling myself being lifted into the air.

“What time is it?” I groggily mumbled, my head resting in Brian’s chest. “Where are we?”

Brian’s chest rumbled underneath my head with laughter and I just squeezed him tighter. I loved that sound and don’t even get me started on the smell that was over stimulating my senses. Brian was everything I could have ever asked for and I couldn’t image spending months without him.

“Well, its around three in the morning and we are Philly,” god I loved the sound of his face. Just by his tone I could tell that he was smiling down at me. I still refused to open my eyes and I had no idea where Matt and Maya had gone to but I didn’t care. I had all I needed right now with me. I wouldn’t trade this feeling for everything.

“I’m not leaving,” I muttered against Brian’s chest as I clung to him for dear life.

“What do you mean? You’re staying in Philly when we’re done?” Was he laughing at me? Or was that concern? I couldn’t tell in my state of exhaustion.

“No, I’m not leaving you. I’m staying…” I yawned, feeling a soft mattress beneath me a few seconds later. When Brian went to pull away from me, I clung to him, refusing to let go. “I’m not going back to school…I’m not going to let you throw this away.”

“You think I want to throw this away?” I slowly opened my eyes to see Brian’s dark orbs full of hurt. “Shit, Ave, that’s the last thing I want to fucking do. I would keep you by my side twenty-four hours a day if I could.”

Brian pulled away for a moment only to lay down on his back and pull me onto of his chest, his eyes baring up into mine. “Ave, let me make this perfectly clear. I don’t want you to go anywhere. I want you with me all the time. Your dad was the one who said that you had to go back to school, which I think is a good idea….just, shit I don’t even know how to say this. I just wish you were going to school when I was only a few minutes away and not on the other side of the world…I want you to finish your degree…but I don’t want to be apart. And if we have to, I will do everything in my fucking power to make this distance thing work because I don’t want to lose you.”

I reached down and ran my fingers over Brian’s face. Damn, I felt the exact same way he did. So why were we having this problem? “What if I could stay with you and go to school at the same time?” I asked, still feeling groggy but my mind working slowly.

“That would be amazing…but your dad seemed very adamant in you going back to school in the fall,” Brian sighed, cupping my face. “I don’t want you to have to go…but if it means we can stay together, I’ll do anything.”

“What if I take classes online while we’re on the road? Most of my classes are on the computer anyway so I don’t see why I couldn’t do long distance learning?” I said getting excited about my idea. “I could follow daddy’s wishes and get to stay with you!”

Brian’s lips crashed into mine in a hungry and passionate kiss. The next thing I knew he was hovering over top of me. He was kissing each and every inch of my body that he could reach, staring from my face and moving downward. God his lips set my every nerve ending on fire and I felt so alive. There was no way I could give this up. “You are fucking brilliant, babe…I love you.” Brian said over and over again before his lips took me captive again.

Matt’s POV

“We’re here beautiful,” I whispered in Maya’s ear as I scooped her into my arms. She looked so freaking peaceful that I wished I didn’t have to move her. Though I knew we would both be more comfortable in the hotel. “Come on, let me get you inside so you can go back to bed.”

“We’re here already?” Maya asked groggily, peaking out through her eyelids at our surroundings. “That was fast.”

“Yeah, it was a short drive and we play the late show tomorrow so we can sleep in,” I said kissing the top of her head. Maya cuddled into my arms as I carried her towards our assigned room. I had to admit that she felt perfect in my arms and I was afraid to put her down. The last thing I wanted was for her to run away from me again.

“That sounds nice,” Maya’s voice sounded so sleepy that I couldn’t help but smile. I rarely got to see her in this state and she was just so fucking beautiful and adorable that I didn’t know how to contain the happiness I felt building inside. “What are you smiling at?”

I looked back down to see those beautiful brown eyes looking back up at me. That only made me smile more as my heart started to race in my chest. Did she have any idea of the hold she had over me? “Just you,” I replied as I reached our room.

“What about me?” She raised a brow at me and I could tell she was trying to judge my mood and situation by the look on my face. This girl knew me too well.

“Just that you look so fucking beautiful right now that I feel like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet,” I chuckled, setting her down on the bed. “How are girl like you ended up with me is beyond me,” I admitted honestly. She wasn’t usually the girl that I went for. She had good values, good morals, and a sense of what she wanted in life. In other words, she was too good to be my girlfriend, but here she was. God I fucking loved her.

“Oh, shut up. You could have any girl on the fucking planet,” she laughed, her head falling back lightly as she sat up looking at me. I could tell that she was still tired but she was slowly coming back to life. “I’m really nothing specially,” I shot her a pointed look because I knew better. I had seen and dated a lot of girls and none compared to her. Maya was the one for me and that much I was certain. Now I just had to get her to see it.

“Speaking of which…When I go back to college” She continued. No, I didn’t like that frown coming over her face and I had to stop it. I knew exactly where she was heading with this and I didn’t want to go there.

“Maya look,” I said, sitting down on the bed and taking her hands in mine. “I’m sorry if it came across like I was trying to tell you what to do with school before. It was selfish of me to assume that you wanted to stay with me and it was a real dick thing to do,” I admitted, looking directly into those beautiful eyes. “I want to do whatever will make you happy, and if that means going back to UCLA then so be it.”

I let out a small sigh as kissed each of her hands, followed by her cheeks and lips. “I don’t want you to go but if that’s what you want to do, I’m not going to stop you. I know you and Ave have plans after graduation and I don’t want to stand in your way.”

“So what does that mean for us?”

That question stopped me in my tracks. What did she mean? Were we supposed to change how we were if she was going to go back to school? I sure as hell hoped now. I mean distance would be a fucking bitch but that didn’t meant that I was going to or wanted to give up on her. Fucking hell, I was the furthest thing from that!

“Maya,” I breathed, forcing her to look me in the eyes. I wanted this to be perfectly clear for her. “I love you and I refuse to let anything come between us, even distance. You still belong here,” I said, taking her hand and placing it over my heart. “I will do anything for you. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to go or for us to be apart while you’re at school, but I promise we will find a way to make it work. Nothing will change between us.”

“But what if it does, Matt?” Maya sighed, looking directly into my eyes. “What happens if everything changes?”

“We can’t let it. I love you, M. and I want to make this work and for you happy at the same time. Not to mention that Larry would have my ball sack if I didn’t let you go back to college. We just have to promise each other that we will make this work, do you hear me?” I asked, holding her face as I spoke to her. I was afraid if I let go that she would disappear before my ears. “Promise me…”

“I promise,” Maya breathed before leaning forward and kissing my lips. After a few moments of a heated kiss, Maya pulled away, looking directly into my eyes. “I don’t want to be without you, Matt.”

“Then don’t,” I urged her.

“It’s not that simple…” Maya let out a deep sigh and I didn’t like the sounds of that.

“Why not?” My brow furred as I looked down at her, confusion etched in my features.

“It’s just that every time I make a promise with someone about staying together it all crumbles.” Fuck, why wouldn’t she look at me. How could Maya have no idea who she was dealing with?

I let out a small laugh, earning a hurt and confused expression from Maya. “Have you not figured out that I am the world’s most stubborn ass?” I chucked and she just shook her head. “Maya, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna give up on us. You just have to trust me and what you feel here,” I said, taking her hand and putting it over her heart. “Because it’s what we both know it’s the same as what I feel. Embrace it and everything will work out for us,” I assured her as she smiled lightly at me.

“You are all that matters to me, M. and I will not lose you. I will fight for you no matter where you are. I love you and I wont let you go so easily. I will fight for us as long as I need to. Do you trust me?”

Notes

Comments please! How will this work out with Maya going back to school and Ave doing her final courses online? What will Larry think?